Today we celebrate arguably the second highest feast in the Church. I say arguably since one could claim Christmas is a higher feast. I personally believe today is a higher feast, and this is my blog so...
I felt that being such a high feast, we needed a special blog post, but I struggled to figure out what would be appropriate. So I thought about what has most touched me this past liturgical year so far, and the thing which struck me most was the idea of the New Evangelization.
Now I don't claim to be any expert in that field, so that's not what I'm really going to talk about. Plus, more important bishops and priests and theologians have explained it. Instead I'd rather talk about one specific part of evangelization. That is the concept of the two-fold purpose of the Liturgy.
Christianity is not simply a passive lifestyle. However, neither is it only an active on the streets faith. It requires more than going to church on Sundays and maybe saying a few prayers throughout the week. It even requires more than going to church every day and saying lots of prayers throughout the week.
On the other hand, though, it requires some time in the church. One will quickly fall away from the faith if one spends all their time on the streets or volunteering.
However, even if one spends time in the church praying and spends time volunteering, praying at an abortion clinic, etc., they are still possibly missing an essential part of the faith - the passive part!
The Liturgy is both an active and passive thing. Since the Second Vatican Council there has been a large emphasis on promoting the active aspect of participation. However, this activity must be done for the purpose of receiving grace. This in turn is done so that one may go out and proclaim the faith in word and deed. Nemo dat quod non habet - you cannot give what you do not have. If we do not receive grace from the Sacred Liturgy, we will be unable to be an image of Christ to others. The reception of grace then is the passive aspect of the Liturgy, which cannot be neglected. Instead, it must always be the prime intention for our activity.
After the Ascension, the Apostles spent the intervening 10 days in prayer, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we commemorate today. Their act of prayer was done so that their hearts could be opened. Then, when the Spirit came upon them they went out and preached to the people, and three thousand were converted that day alone (Acts 2:21).
Even though he possessed the Divine Intellect and knew all things, Jesus himself went off and prayed before any of his major life actions, from His fasting in the desert before beginning His public ministry, to the choosing of His Apostles, to before beginning His Passion (Matthew 4:1-2, Luke 6:12-13, Luke 22:29-30). This was done to teach us the importance of prayer and the necessity of submitting to God's will and grace.
It is easy for us then to see why our Lord commanded the Apostles to wait and pray in Jerusalem for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them (Luke 24:49). Our Lord did not send them out immediately, but instead wished them to serve as an example for the importance of prayer.
It is necessary then to rebuke the idea that time should not be spent in the church in simple silent prayer, but only out preaching among the people. It is likely that without keeping onself centered around Christ in prayer, one will begin preaching oneself instead of preaching Christ. One may view charitable works as the soil which will allow holiness to grow in the souls of the faithful. Prayer and grace, however, provide the soul with the nourishment it needs to continue its growth. If all the plant receives is soil it will die.
However, the reverse is also true, the plant may become fatigued if the soil is not kept rich. Prayer alone will not produce holiness. Prayer must result in an action, an outpouring. While this does not always have to be an activity per se, it must overflow from the personal soul to others. A fine example of this is the cloistered religious. They do not go out into the world, but they pray for the world and thereby produce abundant fruit within the world.
The Liturgy is both an active and passive thing. Since the Second Vatican Council there has been a large emphasis on promoting the active aspect of participation. However, this activity must be done for the purpose of receiving grace. This in turn is done so that one may go out and proclaim the faith in word and deed. Nemo dat quod non habet - you cannot give what you do not have. If we do not receive grace from the Sacred Liturgy, we will be unable to be an image of Christ to others. The reception of grace then is the passive aspect of the Liturgy, which cannot be neglected. Instead, it must always be the prime intention for our activity.
After the Ascension, the Apostles spent the intervening 10 days in prayer, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, which we commemorate today. Their act of prayer was done so that their hearts could be opened. Then, when the Spirit came upon them they went out and preached to the people, and three thousand were converted that day alone (Acts 2:21).
Even though he possessed the Divine Intellect and knew all things, Jesus himself went off and prayed before any of his major life actions, from His fasting in the desert before beginning His public ministry, to the choosing of His Apostles, to before beginning His Passion (Matthew 4:1-2, Luke 6:12-13, Luke 22:29-30). This was done to teach us the importance of prayer and the necessity of submitting to God's will and grace.
It is easy for us then to see why our Lord commanded the Apostles to wait and pray in Jerusalem for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them (Luke 24:49). Our Lord did not send them out immediately, but instead wished them to serve as an example for the importance of prayer.
It is necessary then to rebuke the idea that time should not be spent in the church in simple silent prayer, but only out preaching among the people. It is likely that without keeping onself centered around Christ in prayer, one will begin preaching oneself instead of preaching Christ. One may view charitable works as the soil which will allow holiness to grow in the souls of the faithful. Prayer and grace, however, provide the soul with the nourishment it needs to continue its growth. If all the plant receives is soil it will die.
However, the reverse is also true, the plant may become fatigued if the soil is not kept rich. Prayer alone will not produce holiness. Prayer must result in an action, an outpouring. While this does not always have to be an activity per se, it must overflow from the personal soul to others. A fine example of this is the cloistered religious. They do not go out into the world, but they pray for the world and thereby produce abundant fruit within the world.
Of course, the diversity of the members of the Church is as diverse as the types of plants, as Paul says, "And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors (Ephesians 4:11)." However, just as a gardener can care for all the diverse plants of the garden, so the Spirit is ever so much more perfect in caring for the diverse members of the Church (1 Corinthians 12).
We must then, through prayer and discernment, find our own balance between these two activities of prayer and social charity. But we must not forget the passivity we must always have in being open to gaining grace for these activities. We must maintain an inner silence so that we can be led by the Spirit.
Within the context of the Liturgy this can take on many forms. We must discover how we are called to participate in the Liturgy. Often we hold the idea that everyone needs to sing along with the choir/cantor and make responses and hold an active ministry, etc.
However, I do not think this idea is necessarily proper for everyone, nor will it open the soul to grace, unless it is already disposed to it. Of course I'm not saying any of those things are bad. They are all good. Nevertheless, these are empty activities if God is not centered in it.
Let us then realize that we must allow the Spirit of God to lead us in how we must participate in the Liturgy for our personal sanctification. Let us follow the Church's instruction in what is proper for us. Let us not act thinking we will gain grace simply through acting or do charitable acts only because it's what we like to do, but let us act in the manner that we have discerned will work for our personal sanctification and the salvation of souls.
"Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come
From thy bright heavenly throne,
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all thy own."
From thy bright heavenly throne,
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all thy own."
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